One Photo & Twenty words- how its going to work

Thank you to everyone who replied saying they enjoyed this meme. I really enjoyed it too last year!
It seems that everyone is voting in favour of a linky so that will definitely happen, however we are split into two camps about setting a date.

I'm going to try and strike a middle ground here...

For those who wanted a date:
I will post the meme with a linky on the 9th of each month

For those who wanted a bit more freedom:
I will post a reminder the Monday before (today) and you are welcome to join in with the meme from here on in until the linky closes.
If you publish before the 9th i'll make sure I add your blog to the linky list when the meme goes live on the 9th.

I hope this strikes a balance with everyone. If you are a planner, pencil in the 9th, if you want some freedom, wait for the reminder to ping in your reader and then join as and when you feel like!

So, on Thursday I am setting a challenge...

Do join in if you want or stop by and read some of the entries. If they are anything like last year there are always some fun tales being told in just a few words!

Also, by popular demand, the teapot will be making a return in 2014! I am excited that so many of us want to sit down and share our hearts over a cuppa! Again, for those of you who like having a date, the meme will still take place on the 27th. 

Weaving

A new adventure.
Playing around with a rigid heddle loom.

I am so excited by the potential of this new toy.
The setting up is quite lengthy but the actual weaving is relatively simple.

You tube videos were invaluable for my first time weaving. There really is a whole new world of weavers out there and a whole dictionary of weaving terms.

It's a relaxing craft this weaving process. From warping the loom to the weaving process. There is a lot of repetition involved, a lot of feeding soft wool back and forth and watching something transform in front of you.

In many ways it is like knitting but on a much larger scale and with much quicker results. I like that the results can be unexpected. That you are constantly combining colours to create something new, as the warp and the weft come together.

I am excited to try out new things with this craft. New colour combinations and new patterns. There is a lot to learn and a lot of work to do to try and correct all my wonky edges but there are oh so many possibilities.

Have you tried a new craft recently?

Just a quick question...

When talking about my blog plans the other day, Jacky reminded me of that little meme I started up at the end of the last year:

One photo & Twenty words. 

I really enjoyed seeing these pop up all over blog land and am keen to carry them on this coming year. I think it's a great way to get back into blogging if you are stuck in a rut.

My question is:
1. Would you be interested in joining in with a linky?
2. Last year I just threw this meme out fairly sporadically. Would a set date each month work or is it one of those things that needs to be done on a whim? 

Opinions please!

Thank you so much for the words of support I received on my last post. I love planning what will happen in this little space and I love connecting and sharing with so many of you. 

What to expect from the blog in 2014

And just like that 2013 is out the door!

I like what the new year can hold though. I like that I have an excuse to think big and plan. 

I am excited to try out and share some new crafts and develop this little slice of the web. 

I am very conscious that the end of last term was dominated by pressure. Pressure to finish PL pages, write blog posts and keep up work wise. Pressure I on the whole put on myself. I am determined to relax a bit more this term. A bit more pre scheduling over here, a bit more cutting some slack and perhaps a slower pace! 

So, in the spirit of planning and thinking and all that resolution jazz, here is where I hope the blog will be going in the coming year and what you can expect...

The Old Timers:

I like monthly memes. They provide structure in my blogging schedule and provide pin points to work around. 

This year I will be carrying on "time for tea" as I love sharing my heart with you each month. If there is still interest I will open up the linky so you can join in too. 

I am also wondering out loud whether Alexa will continue with "simply a moment" because if so I will be joining in. 

I'm sure new memes (or "new to me" memes) will pop up as the year progresses too so I am keeping the options open!

Personal:

What with "time for tea" I think there has been a lot of sharing on this old blog in 2013. I really value honesty and keeping it real and I'm still keen to share my thoughts and (some) of my heart in this little space.

The going's on:

Each year the balance of the blog shifts. Whilst I shared a lot of thoughts on the blog last year there was less of the, "what is actually going on". I like the idea of sharing some around here posts again and some everyday photos. I also want to get into the habit of recapping events or even just an ordinary weekend. Some of you lovely ladies do this very well and I'm keen to learn! 

Updates:

lists and goals and projects and reviews. I love a good list and Sian's posts about "five things" could be a great bouncing point this year.

Creativity:

I have already discussed that I am going to share my PL pages every other week. I am also excited to share new adventures into crafts (weaving anyone?) as well as a spattering of tutorials and maybe a few more videos particularly featuring photoshop.

Exciting times are ahead! Do you know where you want to head with blogging this year? Are you still interested in link up for "time for tea"? 

Project Life in 2014

Happy New Years Eve! I love this time of year because it means I have an excuse to change things up, get more organised and in some cases start afresh.

Whilst I loved Project Life in 2013 I want to change some things up in the coming year...
I want to make this project simpler and quicker to complete each week. 

Templates: 
One of the things that took up time this year was simply the placement and moving around of photos on journalling cards.
To try and speed this up I have gone back through my spreads and picked out some of my favourite photo and text layouts and made up some simple photoshop templates.
I am hoping as the year gets busier I can quickly pop the photos into the spaces and add text.
That's the plan anyway!

Page Layouts
I have really enjoyed using the page template "A" this last year but I think it is time for a change.
For 2014 I am planning on using this page layout with square spaces

and this page layout.

Some weeks I will use both, some weeks I will use one.
I am also going to cut myself some slack- if there aren't enough photos I am just going to make one page! Phew!

Weekly Markers
I want to make my pages slightly cleaner in style and I'm starting off with making these page markers. One of these popped in each week to try and create a cohesive look. It also will help me keep track of the dates!

Using an app to write down what happens each day. 
I am useless at remembering what happens each week so I am keen to get going with one of the many journalling apps and just writing a few words at the end of each day. Hopefully I can then use these as journalling prompts when I get down to making my pages.

Blogging about it every other week. 
I have a confession. I don't love blogging about Project Life. But, I really enjoy reading about and gaining inspiration from the project life spreads on others posts.
My PL posts also receive a lot of traffic so I figure someone out there reads them!
Basically, I am going to strike a happy medium. I gain inspiration from others PL pages so maybe others will gain inspiration from mine if I post them. That said I don't want to overload the blog with PL posts especially for those of you who have no interest in the project. Posting the layouts every other week feels like a happy
balance!

Simple, easy and fun. I'm going to try and pair Project Life back a bit this year while still keeping a lot of Abi! Watch this space...

Project Life in review or what I would say to you if you are thinking of starting in 2014

Project Life. I have so many thoughts as I come to the end of this adventure and I want to share them here. I'm hoping that in doing so you can assess whether this project is for you or not or if you are thinking of starting, here are some nuggets of information that may be useful! 

A whole year complete. I am so so glad I took up this project. It made me reassess my photos, my memory keeping and let me have a crafty pursuit whilst at Uni.
Whilst at times it was hard to distill the week into 16 pockets I am thankful that I did it. It allowed me to take stock of what had happened, to pair photos with words and emotions and to do something different aside to academic study.

If you are thinking of starting this project I would tell you that above all ,this project is a whole lot of awesome. At times it will be a chore and at times you won't be able to stop making pages but at the end of the day, you are keeping memories and taking photos and both of those things are pure joy.

So, at the end of 52 weeks here is what I would say to you about Project life...

It's a marathon not a sprint.
This project is great in January but not so hot in March. You will lose inspiration and you will run dry. I think being aware of this is important. It would be crazy to expect a bucket of inspiration every week without you putting in some work to top that inspiration up.
Try keeping a journal where you scribble down ideas for photo layout or journalling cards.
Follow a few Project life boards on pinterest and update your stash every few months.

Project Life is a long term project. Have your eye on an end goal. For me it was the prospect of making a big book of my pages at the end of it.
As many sweet blog friends said to me over the year, our inspiration levels and our motivation go in peaks and troughs, just as life does. Just go with the flow, rejoice when the pages come easily and let it go when they don't.


Being realistic.
The premise of project life is that it is a simple memory keeping system. It is simple if you are realistic with what you can achieve. I set out knowing that I could achieve a double page spread every week. For some that just won't be realistic, try a spread a month or when you have special occasions or just when there are a lot of photos. Project Life could work beautifully in all these formats.

Unrealistic aims can really stall this project. If i'm honest I think my aim for a double page spread every week was too high. This year I am cutting myself some slack. If there aren't enough photos, one page is just fine!

It is your project.
Cathy Zielske has written a ton about this and I want to echo her words that Project Life "should be 1. Fun and 2. Suited to how you work best."
It's as simple as that. I found it overwhelming at first to see so many beautiful PL pages and try and get mine to the same standard, but that isn't the point.
This project can be what you want it to be. For example the lovely Amy makes stunningly beautiful, clean Project Life layouts.  If you know her and her blog you will realise that they totally echo her style.

Let Project Life be in your style and start off the year trying to deduce what you want project life to be. Do you want a blow by blow account of the week? Do you want a lot of photos and simply five highlights from that month? Do you want lots of stories? In other words, what sort of result are you looking for?

Free resources 
I'm a student and I love free resources! Project Life really doesn't have to be expensive. Just type in "project life printables" into pinterest and a whole host of sites will pop up.
One of my favourite sites that collates a lot of free project life resources is One Velvet Morning.
Whether you go down the digital route (which is a very cheap option) and use the resources as photoshop files or you go down the traditional route and print them out, Project Life doesn't need to cost that much.

I love this project, I am so excited to start again in 2014 and I'm so glad I completed a year. If you are thinking about starting just do it. I am so chuffed to have a years worth of memories and photos sitting on my shelf. This project can look daunting but take it a day, a week or a month at a time and it is very feasible.

Around Here-Christmas edition

Photos with brothers 

Christmas lunching 

Playing silly games

Relaxing

Time with siblings

Watching the boxing day hunt. 

We had a lovely peaceful Christmas. I hope you enjoyed yours too. 

I will be back over the next two days with two posts about Project life including tips for those of you thinking of starting in 2014 and where I personally see this project going in the next year. Stay tuned!